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In 2008-11, an officer in the West Midlands was 28 times more likely to stop and search a black person than a white person, in Greater Manchester it was 21 times and in the Met 11 times. And an officer was 10 times more likely to stop Asian Britons than a white person. Who fought against these indiscriminate powers, and are now stopping their use in Government? Only the Liberal Democrats stand against stop and search. And what about crime levels and justice costs? Only the Liberal Democrats have a clear, independent plan for reducing crime in every area, and cutting costs from the justice system through community justice measures, and fewer prison sentences. In 2010, the National Audit Office showed that a 12 month prison sentence costs the state £40,000, yet 45% of those jailed for 12 months or less reoffend within a year. We know that this is an appalling failure based on outdated policies, to which the other Parties remain committed. Compare that to the community justice panels in, for example, Lib Dem controlled South Somerset, where reoffending rates are just 3% and victim satisfaction is 97%.
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The Deputy PM also announced new deals including a £130m contract for BT to provide data transmission services to Correios, the Brazilian post office, and the UK Government underwriting a £185m credit line to the Brazilian steel company Gerdau that will lead to more than £270m in exports to Brazil from 79 companies across Britain. Leading a delegation of Cabinet Ministers and UK business leaders in talks with their counterparts in Brazil, Mr Clegg sought to promote the best of British in Brazil and attract inward investment from major Brazilian firms. The £2.5bn of business highlighted today represents a significant boost to the British economy, creating jobs and growth through both exports and inward investment. Commenting, LIB DEM Councillor in Peterborough, Darren Fower: "It goes to show where in the world the money is at the moment, and its good news that the UK has secured some of it. As the Clegmeister says 'Trade equals jobs, and that is what the people of the UK want.' What I'd love to see too though is an exchange of some UK footballers with some of the Brazilian chappies!!!"
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The biggest change in pensions for over 100 years – automatic enrolment – is UNDERWAY! Starting with the largest firms (those with more than 120,000 employees), employers will now be required by law to pay into a workplace pension for staff that do not opt out. At least 0.8 per cent of their salary is paid into the pension and this is topped up by one per cent from their employer and 0.2 per cent in tax relief. For someone on an average salary of £20,000, it works out at around £309 per person per year. “We are proud to be introducing this truly historic change, which will radically alter the way we save for our old age, and see millions more people putting something aside for the future,” said Minister for Pensions, Steve Webb. Key facts about automatic enrolment:
* Around 11 million people are not saving enough to achieve the pension income they are likely to want or expect in retirement, and less than one in three adults are contributing to a pension, while people are on average living longer – in the past 25 years, life expectancy at age 65 has increased by five years for men and three years for women
* Evidence from the Department for Work and Pensions suggests that, once automatically enrolled, less than one-third will take the active decision to opt-out
* In the United States, case studies show automatic enrolment dramatically increased membership of similar schemes among new employees
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Prime Minister David Cameron today celebrated UK companies winning trade deals worth more than £100 million with Brazil, as he led a delegation of more than 50 British businesses to the South American country.
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Theresa May, the home secretary, is under pressure to block theextradition of Gary McKinnon, who is wanted in the US over computer hacking charges, after a review of the treaty between the UK and US that was ordered by the deputy prime minister had urged that it be scrapped. The review, commissioned by Nick Clegg and undertaken by the former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, insists that the current extradition treaty overly favours America. The finding directly contradicts the Scott Baker report ordered by May last year, which concluded that the Extradition Act was not biased, even though nine times as many Britons have been extradited as Americans.
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The government looks set to increase the amount it spends on advertising and PR to help it sell NHS changes and other policies to the public. Next year's marketing budget is £285m, according to Cabinet Office figures. That is an increase on the £168m spent by the now axed Central Office of Information in its final year.
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A Church of England (C of E) bishop has spoken out in favour of same-sex marriage, saying Christians should not see gay people as "sick or stunted or criminal".
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The Electoral Commission said £7,873,478 in funding had been reported - down £992,312 on the first three months of the year. The Conservatives received £3,785,579, Labour £2,964,471 and the Liberal Democrats £717,797. Labour's biggest donor was the Unite union, while the Conservatives' was financier Michael Farmer. After the three main parties, the Green Party received the most donations, totalling £180,060. Next was the British National Party, with £100,000, followed by the Co-operative Party, on £76,200, and the UK Independence Party, on £29,370. Plaid Cymru received £17,500 and the Scottish National Party £2,500. Among its donations, Labour was given £840,275 by Unite, £429,558 by the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) and £313,863 by the GMB union.
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The University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UNSH) has been criticised after it was discovered it started charging A&E patients for any drugs they needed. Health campaigners say the charges breach the NHS founding principle which says that care is free at the point of delivery and are set to seek a ruling on the legality from the Ombudsman. Ian Syme from North Staffordshire Healthwatch told This is Staffordshire: the hospital has never charged for [medication] since the creation of the NHS in 1948 and we challenge them (the UNSH) where in the constitution it is now allowed to do so [...] the bureaucracy it will need to administer could cost more than it will bring in. The new charges, introduced last month, were brought in even though chief executive Julia Bridgewater said just a few months ago that the hospital had “no plans to charge for drugs”. It is now charging £7.65 for each drug.
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Here’s four intriguing findings from a ComRes poll for the Mirror and Independent released yesterday and conducted 15th-16 August… By 34%-29% public thinks Cameron was WRONG to abandon House of Lords reform Q: Do you agree or disagree that David...
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Is it just us or is Tinchy Stryder popping up everywhere at the moment?
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David Cameron has attacked critics of the Olympics Games opening ceremony - including one of his own MPs - saying the extravaganza was "brilliant". The prime minister praised Friday's event for reflecting Britain's history and contemporary culture, adding that it was "not about politics". Tory MP Aidan Burley described the event as "leftie multicultural" rubbish but he claimed he was misunderstood. Peterborough's Tory MP has apprarently defended Burley which has seen a swave of critism against him - but who is right? Personally, and not being a 'massive' fan of the money spent on the Olympics I thought it was a decent ceremony with humour and ...... of course.... lets not forget the aim is to sell brand UK to the Qataries :)
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Yesterday Nick Clegg had a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. He said:
Secretary General Ban and I discussed the encouraging progress that has been made in talks in New York towards agreeing an Arms Trade Treaty.
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"Society benefits when education is offered on the principle of ability to learn. We are committed, therefore, to free higher education in Scotland. We are committed to reducing student indebtedness." "standing up for students, we are standing up for a strong economy which draws from a broad and talented skills base". "If we are serious about getting the economy back on track then we must recognise that education is pivotal to that journey. "Working constructively with NUS Scotland we will continue to stand up for Scottish students, providing a voice for them in the Scottish Parliament and beyond." Robin Parker, NUS Scotland president, welcomed the Lib Dems' statement.
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Following the ruling in the legal case related to the refusal of a gay couple to stay in a Bed and Breakfast, Nick Griffin tweeted the address of that couple. According to one report, "Others have discussed Griffin’s latest attempt to get some publicity for the collapsing BNP in terms of the limits of free speech or argued that the response from many on Twitter was overblown." Commenting, Cllr Darren Fower said: "People like Nick Griffin should be allowed to air their thoughts. Why? So that we can nuture a society that uses common sense rather than a reliance on other outlets to decide what is right and what is wrong. "Obviously tweeting people's addresses is not right, but restricting the comments made by Nick Griffin and other bigots, runs the risk of society ignoring important issues like racism. Quite simply we should provide these people with the due length of rope they deserve and Nick Griffin (BNP) comments should should be talked about!"
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David Cameron should prepare for another coalition with the Liberal Democrats as the best chance to keep power, according to the modernising wing of the Tory party. Bright Blue, a campaign organisation that includes home secretary Theresa May and universities minister David Willetts as board members, has warned that a coalition may well be the only way to keep power. The Tory party should not lurch to the right but relaunch its modernisation agenda and accept that the "best chance of a second term may well be another coalition with the Liberal Democrats", according to Ryan Shorthouse, Bright Blue's director.
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DC + NC have announced "....a package of measures designed to boost the housing industry and growth through an injection of cash......" including looser planning laws and the lifting of requirements for developers to build affordable homes???? According to the two public schooled chappies who's own houses are far from "affordable" - the new system will help buld at least 70,000 new homes and create 140,000 jobs.............over what period though? Commenting, Lib Dem councillor Darren Fower says, "I'm sorry to say, but I find this latest announcement insufficient from the coalition Government. Under labour house building was badly managed and damaged, and what we need NOW is real action on a severe problem. "The housing crisis cannot simply be defined by those who have and those who have not. There are people who only afford their property due to housing or other benefits, while another two million find their rent or mortgage a constant struggle or are falling behind with payments, then on top of this there are over 1.7 million households currently waiting for social housing. This problem WIL NOT BE RECTIFIED by a promise of helping 4% of these people!" Shelter information source: http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns/why_we_campaign/the_housing_crisis
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Monday 4.30pm: A full inquiry has been launched by mosque leaders after allegations were made that an imam offered to ‘marry’ a 12-year-old girl to a man in his 20s.
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The Conservative Party candidate for the first police commissioner elections in Cambridgeshire is standing down because of internal politics.
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BBC NewsCoalition flashpoints: Where the Tories and Lib Dems could fall outBBC NewsBut some Lib Dems now suggest the coalition would have been better to follow the more gradual austerity plan they advocated before the 2010 election while some...
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Some of Britain's best-known hospitals are being lined up by the Government to export the "NHS brand" around the world and set up profit-making branches overseas to boost their incomes. Under a radical plan to be launched this autumn, officials from the Department of Health and UK Trade and Investment will come together to act as a "dating agency" between hospitals that wish to expand overseas and foreign governments with a demand for British health services.
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The grocery giant Tesco is facing a hefty fine after a dawn raid by the UK Border Agency found it had been employing foreign students illegally.
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Following the abandonment of the House of Lords reform and Nick Clegg's announcement that the Liberal Democrats will consequently vote against boundary changes supported by the Conservatives, more people think that the Liberal Democrats have kept to their side of the Coalition agreement than the Conservatives, READ MORE: http://yougov.co.uk/news/2012/08/08/coalition-who-benefits-most/
* Overall 52% of people think that the Conservatives have gained more from the Coalition compared to 23% who think the Liberal Democrats have done better from the deal
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11.5% swing in favour of the Olympics among Lib Dem members!
Liberal Democrat Voiice asked: All things considered and with the benefit of hindsight, do you think London should or should not have bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games? (Compared with June 2012 results in brackets.) 69% (+12%) – It should
23% (-11%) – It should not
8% (-2%) – Don’t know / No opinion
Commenting, local Lib Dem councillor, Darren Fower added, "It seems not even Lib Dem members are immune, from London 2012 fever? This is a big shift from a couple of months ago, when the London 2012 enthusiasts more narrowly out-ran the sceptics by 57% to 34%.
"The big question now of course is, can UK PLC secure the subsequent and required investment from places like Qatar, as a result of showing what 'we can' do?"
What do you think?
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Work on Cowgate in Peterborough city centre is expected to start this week, with parking restricted from today (Monday 30 July). But according to the Peterborough Telegraph: "Work was due to start in March but the council said it was delayed to allow the extension work for Primark in Queensgate." So who calls the "shots" in this city, the Council or some clothes shop? #Discuss :)
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